Ever since I stopped using my car and bought an electric scooter for commuting I promised to work out how much money I’m saving. I live just outside London, near a train station. So I’ll also include that for comparison. I’ve factored in costs like insurance and road tax and assumed I go into the office 48 weeks a year. So here it is:

YEARLY COST OF COMMUTING

Car £1460 ($2628)
Train £1680 ($3024)
Electric Scooter £348 ($627)

Wow. I thought it would be a lot but that even surprised me. My main reason for buying an electric scooter was to have a more fun way of getting to work, so this is a bonus. Still, the fact that I’m saving over a £1000 ($1800) a year is amazing. Think I’ll take a break somewhere warm that has a rum fountain

The E-Moto is such good value for money. You can get it in the States for only $2,100. Yep, you heard me. But it’s a fantastic machines.

Let’s start with the styling. It’s difficult to sum it up. That’s because there are three different models and they look totally different from each other. There’s the Retro, the Volt and the Metro. The Retro looks like a Lambretta and riding it you wouldn’t look out of place in one those cool films, set in Rome in the 1960’s. The Metro looks more like the scooter you’d jump on to go down the shops. And the Volt has a racing style that wouldn’t look out of place on the track. So there’s something for everybody.

The specs are great for the price too. It has a 2000 watt motor, powered by a 48 volt silicon battery pack. It can reach around 28 mph and has a range of about 35 miles. To find out more about these top notch machines, click here.

Okay, read this carefully. The X-Treme XB-500 is an electric bicycle. Did you get that? A bicycle. Not a scooter. Not a motorbike. A bicycle. Yes, I had to look twice. And then a third time. You see, being a bike, it comes with pedals. Now, whether you choose to install the pedals is up to you.

Of course, classifying it as a bike and not a scooter, does have legal ramifications. In most places you won’t have to wear a helmet, register it with the vehicle agency or get insurance. You just sit on it and go. What could be more hassle-free?

So what are the specs? Well, naturally, the top speed won’t match a scooter. It’s four 12-volt batteries have a range of around 20 miles and can take it up to a speed of around 15-20 mph. You can use the pedals in combination with the motor. Otherwise, it has all the equipment you’d expect to find on a scooter - lights, indicators, a horn. And it has plenty of storage space.

If you’re looking for a great combination of pedal power and horse power, this could be your baby. To find out more, click here.

This is a truly innovative electric bike. It’s only just been launched. It may even change the face of electric bikes. So what’s all the fuss about? Well, it has a stackable battery system.

The battery in itself is astonishing, being a lightweight high density lithium polymer technology. And is stored above the back wheel. It has a range of around 25 miles of power assisted cycling. But that’s not the end of it. If you want to extend the range to, say, 50 miles, no problem. You add another battery. And that extra battery sits on top of the first one.

The launch model has a male style frame but there will be a ladies style frame added later. It’s not cheap but this is at the vanguard of electric bikes, so first adopters will find themselves shelling out somewhere in the region of £1,100.

This is unquestionably the best value electric scooter currently available in the U.K. It’s only £999 and has much the same spec as scooters that are three times the price. It has a top speed of 30 mph and a range of around 40 miles. The bodywork seems thin but that’s a good thing because it keeps the scooter very light, giving it some nippy acceleration.

It takes eight hours for a full charge but is about 70% charged after only three hours. And it comes in three colours: silver, red and blue. The styling is very modern. It’s such a comfortable ride you have to pinch yourself that it’s this cheap.

I’ve been told that this is the most popular electric scooter in Europe. It’s styled to make it look indistinguishable from a traditional scooter so you won’t stand out from the crowd. Until all those bikers scratch their heads, wondering why it’s so quiet.

It has a powerful 4,000 watt motor and long lasting silicon batteries. Its top speed is only 30 mph but, between you and me, I have heard that this can be… ahem… altered up to 45 mph. It has a range of around 50 miles. It’s designed in Italy and engineered in Germany.

Another great feature is that a full charge can take only 3 hours.

But the feature that has made it so popular is it’s price. In the U.K. it sells for only £2,800 (around $5000). Yes, that’s three times what you can get an ordinary scooter for, but, once you factor in the fact that the E-Max only costs 8p a mile to run, you’ll soon recoup your money.

It might not be as well spec’d as the Vectrix but it’s around half the money. So, I guess, you pays your money, and you take your choice.

This is a Nice car. ‘Nice’ because that’s the name of the company. It stands for: No Internal Combustion Engine. Clever, huh? This model is called the Mega City

Maybe it’s just me but I like the styling because it looks more like a regular car. It’s longer. In fact it has more storage space in the back than many electric cars, making it much more practical if you want to use it for work around town.
I have a thing about the top speeds of electric vehicles - that they have to have a top speed of 50 mph. It’s a little foible of mine. But 50 mph does seem like a decent speed. Unfortunately the Nice Mega City falls short by a good 10 mph, only able to reach 40 mph. But its range is similar to the others at 50 miles.

So not so good on top speed but it does have great storage space and good styling.

As electric cars go, the Reva G-Wiz has been around for a while now. And initially, it didn’t do much for the image of electric cars because there were concerns about its safety. But Reva took these on board, went away, and added a new safety cage, designed in collaboration with Lotus Engineering. Not a bad company to collaborate with if you want increased credibility.

The interior is still very basic and cramped. Although it does now come with a DAB radio.

Its top speed is around 50 mph and has a range of 50 miles. But, against that, it’s still one of the cheapest electric cars on the market.

I would really like to know what has happened to this car. It was a concept car exhibited by Reva at an electric motor show in Monaco in 2005. However, it has not yet gone into production. I’d really like it to. Mainly because I think that electric cars still have an uncool image.

That’s despite the fact that the new ones look very stylish. You only have to look at newer electric cars such as the Elettrica. And despite the fact that smouldering, understated but sexy movie star, Kristin Scott-Thomas has an electric car. So when I saw this sporty little number I got excited. An electric convertible. Woah! But, hey, I can wait for it to reach the market. No, I can’t. Build it, Reva. NOW!

For the record, here’s the notional specs. It would have a top speed of 75 mph and a range of 125 miles. And it’s designed by DC Design, who also worked on the Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage range.